Sponsored by Downtown Cleveland Alliance

Downtown Cleveland employers recruit from one of the youngest, most highly skilled workforces in the United States. Here's why. Sponsored by Downtown Cleveland Alliance

Where you choose to place your company can greatly determine its success. Location is one of the leading factors positioning your company over competitors to attract and retain high-performing talent. In today’s global economy, professionals flock to highly walkable urban centers, and here’s why.

Downtown neighborhoods offer urban housing, big-city lifestyles, parks and recreation, education, entertainment and transportation options. When companies actively recruit talent from out of market, the key question to answer for their recruits is, “Can I see myself and my family living there?” The growing number of amenities in Downtown Cleveland provide a quality of life that stands out among other downtowns in the region.

Just last year, USA Today ranked Cleveland as one of the Top 10 best cities for jobs based on affordability, openings and job satisfaction. In Ohio’s largest jobs center, with more than 104,000 employees and rapidly approaching 20,000 residents, Downtown Cleveland has a large portfolio of unique historic housing options, three professional sports teams, the largest off-Broadway theater district outside of New York, world-class cultural dining, national museums and new attractions coming on line every day along the lake and riverfront.

It is these kinds of assets that employees value and want to live and work among.

Located in the heart of the 16th largest region in the country, with over 3.5 million people, including over 2 million within a 45-minute commute, Downtown Cleveland employers recruit from one of the youngest, most highly skilled workforces in the United States. Downtown’s central location and multi-modal transportation options (highways, trains and buses) give employers a talent attraction and retention advantage by making central business district jobs the most easily accessible to the most highly skilled talent in the region. Downtown Cleveland is also a short two-and-half hour drive from colleges and universities such as The Ohio State University, University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon — all serving as major talent pools for employers to pull from.

In close proximity to hundreds of other businesses, companies are a stone’s throw away from their next sale, partnership, contract or big idea. Being downtown increases the exposure of the developing businesses and provides the opportunity to raise brand awareness and build a culture of creativity and innovation that feeds off the energy and enthusiasm of downtown.

“Yes, businesses across the country are moving downtown, and it’s not just in coastal cities anymore,” said Joe Marinucci, president and CEO at Downtown Cleveland Alliance. “Talented people, especially millennials, want to work in environments like Downtown Cleveland, and having an office in Cleveland’s thriving city center is increasingly being used as a recruitment tool.”

Capitalizing on the progress from past years, Downtown Cleveland’s growing amenity base makes it easy for companies to strategically attract the best talent from around the world. Recognized as “America’s hottest city” by Forbes and ranked 15th on Glassdoor’s list of the “best cities for jobs,” Downtown Cleveland is the premier place to start, work and grow. Offering captivating career opportunities in an activated and affordable city is one of the reasons why Entrepreneur, Forbes and Fortune list Cleveland among the most entrepreneur-friendly cities.